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Extreme dental makeovers involve full mouth reconstructions with dental implants and fixed porcelain bridges. A full mouth reconstruction is very similar to building a highway bridge. The implants act like columns that support the bridge, and the bridges themselves are like the pavement you drive across. This is only a metaphor intended to show how a dental extreme makeover is actually performed in your mouth. The outcome looks much more cosmetic than a bridge in the outside world.
Because the implants provide the actual support in extreme dental makeovers, the distances between teeth determine the number of implant needed. This follows the same principle as bridge construction over rivers. A short span bridge over a small stream may require only two columns on either side. A longer bridge over a 10 lane freeway, however, often needs up to ten supports.
When performing an extreme dental makeover for a patient, the dentist first examines existing natural teeth and measures of the distances between them. These distances are used to determine the number of implants that are needed to support fixed porcelain bridges that are later built between implants and any existing teeth that are capped with porcelain crowns.
The key to extreme dental makeovers is training and knowledge in advanced cosmetic dentistry that helps us understand where implants have to be placed and where bridges have to be built. When there is only a small distance between teeth, we only need build a short span bridge. A longer bridge requires one or more implants. If there is a very long space along the bone with no teeth, and only one or two natural teeth, the dentist may cap these natural teeth and use these as anchor supports for bridges.
The intent in an extreme dental makeover is to make a cosmetically superior outcome from a position of strength and stability. Once enough support is created between implants and natural teeth, the dentist can places all porcelain bridges and crowns. Sometimes people find it very challenging, though, to invest in this complex combination of implants, crowns, and bridgework. For these people, there are many more affordable, temporary options that can be explored. Often, people get the necessary implants to build future supports for bridges, and then they invest in partial dentures that will work as viable tooth replacements while they are saving up money for permanent, more durable tooth replacements.
Extreme dental makeovers offer everyone, regardless of how badly damaged their teeth have become, or how many teeth they have lost, the opportunity to confidently smile with a full set of natural, healthy, and white teeth.Labels: cosmetic dental implants, denta makeover, extreme dental makeover, full mouth reconstruction
Dental Implant Prices
A lot of people never think about getting dental implants because they believe the prices are simply too expensive. While they are by no means cheap, dental implant prices are still within the grasp average citizens. Many insurance programs will partially cover costs. However, if yours does not, f Cosmetic Dentistry Center of Houston has financial assistance services for which you may qualify.
We make it a policy to neither establish nor advertise fixed prices as some cosmetic dental offices do. This is a highly variable service, the cost of which is determined by many different factors. Some tooth replacements are very simple and cost less—particularly if there is only a single implant or two. Other procedures can be more complicated and therefore more expensive. Full mouth reconstructions, for instance, might involve helping a person who has suffered from severe bone loss throughout significant portions of the mandibles. Helping such a patient may require combining selectively placed dental implants with porcelain bridges. This has taken up to 18 months to complete for some patients. It is difficult to establish a set price for this type of work, because the number of dental implants, the amount of bridgework, and any treatments like LANAP that we may have to perform for periodontal disease will have an impact on the final cost.
The only way that we can fairly calculate dental implant prices is to treat each case on a highly individual basis. Every patient has to have a complete dental exam consisting of photography (normally performed by our high-tech intraoral camera), x-rays, and close visual examination by the dentist. Every finding is discussed with the patient and all questions are answered. Options are reviewed, including the time it will take to perform the various treatments.
If the dentist recommends dental implants, prices will be agreed upon and a payment method established prior before any work is done. There will be no surprises or hidden costs. If finances prohibit the patient from moving forward at the present time, there are also other options to consider. We have a number of cosmetic tooth procedures that we can administer as either temporary or long-term solutions. However, for patients with serious restorative needs, dental implants are often the key to a final, satisfactory resolution. The added strength that even a few dental implants bring to the mandibles makes the investment worthwhile from a health and wellness perspective, and no one can deny the magnificence of brand new teeth that sometimes look even better than the originals they replaced.
If you need dental implants but are afraid of the prices you might be charged, please call us and see what we can do to help you satisfy your desires. We sincerely want the best for each and every patient, and we will do the best we can to develop a win-win financial plan for all parties concerned.Labels: dental implant prices, Dental Implants, full mouth reconstruction
The Snap-On Smile is a non-invasive, patented dental device that can be used in both restorative and diagnostic applications.
There is no need for any drilling, Novocain shots, or adhesive bonding to install it. In fact, most applications can be completed in as little as one half hour.
The Snap-On Smile can raise the vertical dimension of facial height.
Tooth surfaces diminish after long periods of Bruxism and attrition. Face muscles will eventually begin to sag because of this. Restoring the proper surface areas of teeth will in reverse this drooping effect, create a healthier and more natural looking smile, and prevent further Bruxism at night.
The Snap-On Smile is the most comfortable and attractive cosmetic removable partial denture developed to date.
Tooth loss creates two problems for people. One problem is gaps in the smile. The other problem is the damaged appearance of remaining teeth. By applying a Snap-On Smile, both problems can be corrected at once. The Cosmetic Dentistry Center of Houston can make these cosmetic removable partials in either quadrant or full arch sizes. Patients almost unanimously report these are the best dentures they have ever used. One group of patients in particular—those with a strong gag reflex—especially like these dentures because they cover only the teeth, not the palate.
The Snap-On Smile has consistently proven itself to be a superior form of temporary replacement for people receiving implants.
The unobtrusive nature of the device prevents it from coming from impinging on gingival tissues. Because of its 100 percent tooth-retention, it puts far less pressure on the mouth in general. This makes it far easier for tissues that have received an implant to heal.
This device has also proven to be a very effective surgical template in a number of procedures such as cosmetic gingivectomies. After such a surgery is performed, the near perfect fit that the tooth-retained partials provide provides the gum line with an ideal contour to follow in healing and post-surgical growth.
Many people come to us looking to use The Snap-On Smile for exclusively cosmetic purposes.
There are all types of negatives that can impact the way teeth look. Such issues as midline discrepancies, stains in teeth, worn teeth, chips and small cracks, dark triangles, and even uneven tooth sizes can all be cosmetically altered by this simple device. It is also possible to use these remarkable tooth retained dentures as temporary tooth replacements during full mouth reconstruction work that can take up to 18 months. While bridges and implants are being placed in the mouth, the Snap-On Smile can show a consistently natural and healthy looking face to the world while the dentist works quietly behind the scenes.Labels: cosmetic dental implants, cosmetic removable partial dentures, cosmetic tooth whitening, dental abfraction, dental tooth implants, full mouth reconstruction, Snap-On Smile
Cosmetic Dental Implants Used in Full Mouth Reconstruction for Patient with 50 Percent Missing Teeth
A patient by the name of Kim came to us, quite distraught about her severe case of missing teeth. She was 47 when we met her, and she had suffered tremendous dental problems since she was 12 years old. She had crashed her bicycle one day, and had broken off her front teeth. Since that time, she reported, she not only experienced missing teeth, but suffered from constant infections in her mouth.
She had been through many episodes in her mouth where a variety of dental ailments afflicted her. Severe swelling would arise in her mouth, accompanied by intense pain. She would develop toothaches that were so sudden, and so severe; she would have to be rushed to the emergency room at midnight. Dental emergency treatment almost always ended with teeth being pulled because of the degree of pain and infection in her teeth and gums. This only resulted in more tooth loss, and seemed to never resolve the root cause of the infections which appeared mysteriously linked to her childhood accident.
By the time more than half of her teeth were gone; Kim had all but given up on dentistry. The heartache of being young and attractive, but having so many missing teeth, made her shy about smiling, or even opening her mouth at all in front of people. Years went by, and she never went to a dentist, believing nothing at all could be done to restore so many missing teeth or cure the infections that kept developing in her mouth.
Then, by some strange twist of serendipity, Kim learned of the Medical Center Dental Group through a newspaper ad we ran in the Houston Chronicle. She read about our commitment to patient care and comfort, and how we have helped so many people with complex and challenging problems, including severe cases of missing teeth. This gave her enough hope and courage to schedule an appointment with us.
We used a combination of treatments to restore Kim’s lost teeth and remedy the constant bouts with infection. Our intraoral camera revealed advanced periodontal disease, which appeared to have been the cause of so many teeth becoming infected to the point they had to be pulled. Whether or not this periodontal disease resulted from her bicycle accident as a child remained a mystery. Nevertheless, were able to successfully treat her periodontal disease with LANAP. We also performed a series of root canals to ensure that all diseased and dying nerve and tooth root tissue were completely removed from Kim’s mouth.
Once her mouth had completely recovered, and there were no remaining symptoms of toothaches or periodontal disease, we then began the cosmetic phase of dental treatment. We used a total of 5 cosmetic dental implants to replace missing teeth in key areas of her jaws that needed strength and support. (Sometimes, advanced periodontal disease and deterioration of the bone limits the number of implants we can use.) The remainder of her full mouth reconstruction was done with fixed porcelain bridges and crowns, creating a new, healthy, natural looking smile she had not enjoyed since childhood.
Besides the obvious cosmetic improvements, Kim can now eat more comfortable, speak with more confidence, and be proud of her smile instead of holding her hand over her mouth all the time.Labels: alternative to dental surgery, cosmetic dental crowns, cosmetic dental procedures, full mouth reconstruction, LANAP, missing teeth, root canal
A man named Ron, who had a number of missing teeth, came to us when he realized that tooth decay in his remaining teeth would probably cause him further tooth loss. He had no idea why so many of his teeth had failed, and he did not want to lose any more of them. He asked about a procedure he had heard about called a full mouth reconstruction. He wanted to know if it could offer a medical solution to his failing teeth as well as a cosmetic solution to his missing teeth. He also wanted to know if it would be a painful procedure. He told us that by the sound of the term, full mouth reconstruction, he could only imagine the amount of surgery and pain such a process might involve.
We quickly put his fears of pain and surgery to rest. We explained that a full mouth reconstruction was not the same as reconstructive surgery. Rebuilding bone, tissue, or muscle after a major accident is not the same as rebuilding a smile. Rather, a full mouth reconstruction involves strategic use of dental inlays, bonding, or crowns to replace missing teeth and to prevent teeth that are in the process of decaying from failing completely. In cosmetic dentistry, this procedure does not involve drilling or filling teeth with silver-mercury amalgams. All reconstructive work is done with materials that can be sculpted or molded to the existing teeth so that the original color, or whiter appearance if so desired, can result.
Cosmetic dental implants, for example, can be used to teeth that are missing from the upper and lower jaws. Cosmetic dental implants are made from a titanium base that acts like a tooth root. Once the bone adapts around the tooth, a porcelain crown is placed over it, providing an excellent mimic for the translucent whiteness of natural tooth enamel.
But what caused Ron to have such massive tooth loss in the first place? The answer lay in a seemingly unrelated medical problem. Ron had suffered for 10 years from a condition known as sleep apnea. For those same ten years, he had ground his teeth unconsciously in his sleep, and never noticed that cavities were forming in the cracks that resulted. The decay seemed to hit him all at once, and many teeth were lost in a short amount of time. While this was a very sad and severe case, the good news for Ron was that a full mouth reconstruction could still be performed that would restore his smile with an even better look than he had had before. After all, improvement of this sort is what Cosmetic Dentistry is all about.
To systematically accomplish this for Ron, we placed arches in the upper and lower arches of his mouth. We then used these implants, along with healthy natural teeth that remained, as anchor points for fixed porcelain bridges and crowns. Although the procedure took almost 7 months to complete, the Ron says it was well worth the time and money, because he looks and feels almost 20 years younger as a result of his full mouth reconstruction.Labels: Bruxism, cosmetic dental bonding, cosmetic dental bridges, cosmetic dental crowns, cosmetic dentistry, Dental Implants, full mouth reconstruction
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